DETROIT – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, awards a $1,495,528 contract to a Minnesota company for pier breakwater repair at Grand Marais Harbor on Lake Superior’s south shore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Marine Tech, LLC, of Duluth, Minn., will remove remnants of a pile dike breakwater dating back to the 1800s along with the failing end of the stone breakwater on the southern end of the East entry pier, and replace it with 370 feet of new stone breakwater.
“This is an important project to maintain the integrity of the structure protecting the navigation channel in this critical harbor of refuge,” said Lt. Col. Robert Ells, district engineer. “The repaired breakwater will protect this federal structure from further deterioration as well as the navigation channel from rough waters and shoaling, which means greater safety for boaters and anglers.”
The repaired breakwater will be constructed with three stone layers, with smaller stones on the bottom interior and 6- to 12-ton stones on the exterior sides. It is intended to protect the existing structure from continued failure while also safeguarding the harbor from high waves and shoaling. Work is slated to start in late August and the contractor anticipates completing repairs by the end of the 2012 construction season. If inclement weather prevails, completion of the repairs may be delayed until spring 2013.
Located about 75 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie, Grand Marais is designated by Congress as a Harbor of Refuge.
For more details, please contact Lynn Rose, public affairs officer, 313-226-4680; or Mollie Mahoney, project manager, at 313-226-2033.
Release no. 081012-01